Davies suffers fracture in Rea collision

Ducati works rider Davies was defending his lead from Rea with just three corners left in the 21-lap race when he fell exiting the Carro hairpin.

The Welshman hit the track right in front of Rea, who was given no time to take avoiding action, the wheels of his Kawasaki striking Davies in the back.

Points leader Rea fell after the contact but managed to rejoin and finish the race in third.

Davies, despite the contact, had initially gotten up as well and went to pick up his bike, but could not carry on and was subsequently stretchered off the track.

He was taken to the local Rimini hospital and was diagnosed with a fracture of the transverse process of the third lumbar vertebrae and a contusion of the left thumb.

“I did everything I could to mount a last-lap attack, in the last corner, but unfortunately he [Davies] crashed and I had nowhere to go and I hit him,” a distressed-looking Rea said after the race.

“I'm so sorry for this, I stopped with him on the slowdown lap to see if he's okay, and he seems okay, his back was a little bit sore.

“I really hope and pray that he's fine and I'm really sorry but I had nowhere to go.”

A winner of 23 world Superbike races, 30-year-old Davies sits third in the World Superbikes standings at the halfway point of the 2017 campaign.

But his injuries mean that he will miss Sunday's Misano race and it is not yet known whether he will compete in the next round of the season – the July 8-9 meeting at Laguna Seca.

“We’re deeply saddened by what happened to Chaz. He will now observe a rest period, but he has a strong character and I’m sure he’ll tackle it with the same mettle he’s racing with,” said Ducati's Superbike project director Ernesto Marinelli.